Index / Implants
Single tooth implant
One tooth back,
and no debt owed
by its neighbors.
The argument for a single implant is not really about the implant. It is about the two healthy teeth on either side that a bridge would grind down, and which an implant leaves exactly as they are.
Why people come here
- He teaches occlusion and full-mouth rehabilitation to other dentists
- Fellowships in three academies — FAGD, FACE and FICOI
- The complex cases other practices refer out
- A written, itemized plan before anything is scheduled
What it is
Three parts, fitted
over three appointments.
A titanium or zirconia post replaces the root and is placed into the bone. An abutment connects it to the visible part. A custom ceramic crown, made to match the tooth beside it in shade, shape and translucency, goes on top. Each part is made or chosen for the specific site.
The front of the mouth is harder than the back, and not because of the bone. It is the gum. A front implant crown only looks like a tooth if the tissue around it comes to a point in the right place and at the right height, and that is achieved with provisionals that shape the gum over weeks before the final crown is made.
In the back of the mouth, strength and cleanability dominate. The crown is shaped so that floss and a brush can actually reach the margin, which is a design decision made at the planning stage, not a happy accident.
The alternatives
Implant, bridge, or nothing.
A conventional bridge
The teeth on either side are prepared for crowns and carry a false tooth between them. Faster, often cheaper up front, and the right answer when those teeth already need crowns. The cost is permanent: healthy enamel is removed from two sound teeth, and if one of them later fails, the whole bridge goes with it.
A removable partial denture
The cheapest option, and sometimes the appropriate one. It is removable, it covers tissue, it moves slightly when you chew, and most patients who can afford an alternative choose one. It is also a reasonable interim while bone heals.
Leaving the gap
A legitimate choice for some back teeth, and worth stating honestly rather than pretending every gap must be filled. What has to be weighed is drift: the teeth beside and opposite the gap tend to move into it over years, which can turn a one-tooth problem into a three-tooth one.
The implant
Nothing is done to the neighboring teeth. The bone around the site is loaded and therefore maintained. It is cleaned like a tooth. It costs more at the outset and takes months rather than weeks, and over a long horizon it is usually the better value.
Questions
Single implants, answered.
How long from start to finish?
Typically three to six months where no grafting is needed: placement, a healing period for the implant to integrate with bone, then the crown. Sites that need grafting or a sinus procedure add two to six months. A temporary tooth covers the gap throughout if the space is visible.
Can the tooth be extracted and the implant placed the same day?
Sometimes, and it is a good option when the conditions are right: enough sound bone, no active infection, and good initial stability. Where those conditions are not met, placing immediately risks the implant, and the honest answer is to graft the socket and wait. That decision is made at the appointment, with the tooth out and the socket visible.
Will it match my other teeth?
A single crown next to a natural tooth is the hardest match in dentistry, and worth being plain about. It is done with custom shade work and sometimes a technician seeing you directly, and the result is usually very good. A guarantee of invisibility would not be honest.
Can an implant get a cavity?
No — there is nothing there to decay. It can lose bone support, which is the implant equivalent and is driven by plaque and inflammation exactly as gum disease is. So it still needs brushing, flossing or interdental cleaning, and regular professional maintenance.
Keep reading
Next step
Start with an examination and a straight answer.
A consultation includes an examination, the records the case needs and a written, itemized plan. If what you are asking for is not the right treatment, Dr. Nosti will say so and tell you what is.